Sometimes a movie is so richly, gloriously, flamboyantly stupid that it starts to become fun to watch.
Over Her Dead Body is a gleefully daft project that not only has both Eva Longoria Parker and Jason Biggs in the same cast but centres on a jealous ghost, a confluence of idiotic elements that's impressive, you'll admit.
Mrs. Parker and Paul Rudd are Kate and Henry. They are deeply in love and getting married, but she dies on their wedding day. In keeping with the themes of the story, hers is a moronic sort of death.
Henry is heartbroken. Though Kate is dead, we saw enough of her in the first scene to know that she's an obsessive, bossy, nit-picking harridan, so -- yeah, who wouldn't miss her?
Henry's sister sends him off to a psychic named Ashley (Lake Bell), who is beautiful as well as prescient. Ashley will try to communicate with Kate's spirit in order to help Henry move on with his life. As it happens, Ashley not only communes with the dead, she gets a very distinct message from same: Back away from my man, beeyotch. As soon as it looks as if Ashley and Henry might be attracted to one another, Kate's ghost turns up to make Ashley's life a misery and to plunge the movie into sight-gag hell.
Kate can float, vanish, change her voice and walk through solid objects. She scares Ashley, tricks Ashley and helps Ashley make a fool of herself. Just in case that's not funny enough, the movie also has fat-dog moments and a loud farting sequence.
Truly, something for everyone.
What's dead Kate's problem? She thinks she is protecting Henry. It takes a long time before she sees that letting go is what's required.
Other than that, the movie has a subplot involving Henry's sister, Kate's diary and psychic fakery, and a further subplot in which Jason Biggs has to emote, wax macho, tear off his shirt and perhaps later fire his agent; anyone who goes to the movies without Gravol is a fool.
The performances in Over Her Dead Body are as sit-comish as the material demands.
Both Longoria Parker and Bell seem to be having a lot of fun, however, and that comes through.
Both actresses seem slightly giddy at all times. Their energy is attractive, so much so that they change the final product from mean-spirited sitcom to campy nonsense. That's quite an achievement.
(This film is rated PG)
More Movie Reviews
